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Major Marling
In Biggles Delivers the Goods, Major Marling was an ex-Indian Army officer and owner of the estate at Shansie in lower Burma. Like his friend, Li Chi, Marling had also amassed a quantity of raw rubber at his estate which he offered to the British government if they could come and fetch it. Twenty years before the events in the book, Marling had been one of the most popular officers in the Indian Army but he then committed what some considered "the most unpardonable indiscretion" of falling in love with an Indian girl. The fact that she was an Indian princess made no difference. There had been a scandal and Marling was forced to resign his commission. Marling subsequently married the girl but could not stay in India. He therefore moved to the most inaccessible part of lower Burma he could find, one accessible only by a long journey up a dangerous river. There, at the place known as Shansie, he set up a small colony which he developed, with padi fields, rubber plantations and a ruby mine. Marling ruled over his local workers like a king and "white father". His people venerated him and referred to him as "Bhatoo". His wife susequently died but they had a son, Prince Lalla, who was already in his late teens by the Second World War. Over the years, Marling gradually adopted the local way of life in his dress and habits. But when the Second World War broke out, motivated probably by a sense of patriotism or in defiance of the enemy, he resumed his British nationality, dress and way of life. He remained at Shansie after the Japanese invaded Burma, and placated the conquerors by sending them a small quantity of rubber. But the bulk of the produce was hidden away in the jungle. Biggles first met Marling when he traveled to Shansie with Li Chi to discuss how he could collect the rubber for air transportation to India. When Biggles arrived up the Pakchan River, he discovered that Japanese troops had just taken the estate over and were on the verge of executing Marling. By rounding up Marling's men and with allies such as Prince Lalla and Marling's foreman Melong, a counter-attack was launched which overcame the Japanese and freed Marling. Later in the book Marling was captured a second time when Japanese paratroops descended on Shansie and took the defenders by surprise. He was taken to Victoria Point and put in the local jail where he met Algy who had been forced down while flying between India and Biggles' base at Elephant Island. Biggles raided Victoria Point with Marling and Li Chi's men and freed Algy and Marling just as they were being beheaded. Marling went to Elephant Island for a while but then elected to return to Shansie with Prince Lalla where he intended to wage guerilla warfare against the Japanese. In this he was largely successful. Towards the end of the book, Lalla traveled to Elephant Island again to report that the insurgent warfare had made things untenable for the Japanese at Shansie and they had evacuated the estate. Biggles could thus land there and retrieve Marling's rubber stock for delivery to India. Lalla left Elephant Island for India with Biggles' squadron, having got his father's permission to join the Royal Air Force. He also carried a parcel of rubies from his father, to be sold and the proceeds donated to the Red Cross as a contribution from "loyal friends in Burma". Li Chi, who had struck a strange friendship with Marling over the years, described him as an unusual member of "that unusual race--the English". Some inhabitants the region consided Marling "not right in the head", but then Li Chi had not met Bertie. Category:People Category:Biggles characters Category:WW2 era characters